


The Other Girl

by starrattlerofprydain



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29886024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrattlerofprydain/pseuds/starrattlerofprydain
Summary: What if Roxas met Kairi during his days in the Organization?
Relationships: Kairi/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. A Familiar Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 84 years..........
> 
> But I liveee!!

_So cold_.

Those were Roxas’s first thoughts as soon as he stepped inside Xion’s room. His eyes immediately landed on his friend, who was lying in her bed. The boy worriedly approached her, watching as she slept there peacefully. At least, he _hoped_ she was getting a peaceful sleep after learning what happened to her.

Not long before, Roxas was informed Xion had failed one of her missions and she collapsed shortly after, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. He recalled the same thing happened to him weeks ago. Roxas had slept for a long period of time until he suddenly woke up in a daze one day. The blond couldn’t remember much of what happened during all of that, almost as if it was a dream.

But Xion had been there for him. She was there for him every day, placing seashells by his pillow as she waited for him to wake up. No one knew for sure if Roxas was ever going to awaken, but it didn’t stop the girl from checking up on her friend. It was the least she could do. He made her feel…

Feel? Was that something Nobodies can even do?

Roxas continued to gaze at the girl before him as he softly muttered her name. He sighed and rummaged through his coat’s pocket, pulling out one of the seashells Xion had given him. He briefly inspected the small object sitting in the palm of his hand, remembering how his raven-haired friend went on about a world she visited during the time he slept. A place surrounded by the sea that seemed oddly familiar to him for some reason. But he’s never been to his place before… has he? Maybe it must have been a memory from before he became a Nobody.

 _Yeah, that might be it,_ Roxas thought before gently placing the seashell near Xion’s pillow. He watched her for a few more moments, hoping there was a small chance she might just wake up right away. But her eyes remained closed as her chest slowly rose and fell. No sign of her waking up anytime soon. Roxas wished he could stay longer but he had a mission to complete.

“I’m gonna get going now…” he mumbled, knowing she most likely couldn’t hear him. But he didn’t care. “I’ll be back later…I promise.”

The boy began to make his way out of the room, glancing at Xion once more before he slipped out and headed back over to the Grey Area to proceed with his mission.

** **

The days passed and Roxas went on with his usual routine. He would visit Xion first thing in the morning in hopes of seeing her awake, only to find the girl still lying in the same spot on her bed. Despite this, it still put him in a better mood being able to see her. He reminded himself to leave her a seashell before he left on a mission, just like she did for him.

Once Roxas spent a few moments with Xion, he went to complete the usual missions assigned to him by Saïx. For some missions, he was paired up with some of the Organization members. And for others, he went solo. Just recently, he went to a new world called Neverland. Right away, the boy noticed the body of water surrounding the island he stood upon, which brought him back to thinking about that island where Xion found all those seashells.

Those thoughts were set aside when Roxas discovered he can fly in this particular world. After that exhilarating experience, he couldn’t wait to tell Xion about it. He even hoped they would be able to go on a mission together just so she could experience it for herself.

It was still a little strange though. He had a feeling he’s done this before. Was this just another memory of his past self? He brushed off the thought.

After Roxas completed his missions throughout the days, he would end it off by heading to the clock tower, where he would find his red-headed friend. It was nice having someone to talk to, even though he couldn’t help but miss Xion’s presence. At least Axel was there to reassure him that she’ll wake up in no time. Roxas sure hoped that was the case.

It was the same routine for a couple of days, until both Roxas and Axel made their way to the Grey Area one morning to see a piece of paper up on the wall where Saix would normally be standing.

“Another vacation day?” Roxas wondered out loud as he read the writing in front of him.

“Huh… well, I can’t argue with that,” Axel said, spinning on his heel and waving goodbye to his friend. “If you need me, I’ll be catching up on some sleep.”

Roxas watched as the tall man retraced his steps back to his room. The boy stood there in thought, smiling to himself as he decided to take this time to head over to Xion’s room. Maybe she might finally wake up today. Once Roxas arrived at the door, he peeked inside, noticing nothing had changed. He let out a small sigh and stepped inside as he walked over to the raven-haired girl.

“Looks like we have another day off today.”

Roxas stood by her side, his smile faltering slightly as he went on. “I kind of wish you were already awake, so we can spend the day together. Axel’s spending his time off sleeping again, so I guess it’ll be just the two of us.”

The blond seated himself on the side of the bed, thinking of what else he wanted to tell her. He could only say so much to someone who couldn’t respond back. Sometimes he still wondered if she could actually hear him...

Roxas’s lips suddenly curved back into a smile as he recalled one of his previous missions. “There’s this place I wanna show you. You probably won’t believe it, but I actually flew there! Maybe we’ll be able to go on a mission together one day so you can try it out yourself.”

He mindlessly kicked his feet back and forth off the bed, staring at the white walls surrounding them. “I think you’ll like that world. It’s got some nice sights, being surrounded by the ocean and all.”

The boy’s eyes wandered to all the seashells sitting right beside her, the same ones that were previously on his own bed. He thought about that place that Xion told him about, realizing how much he longed to go to the beach with her and Axel.

_We’ll go together someday. Just like we promised._

Roxas stayed by Xion’s side a while longer, rambling on about whatever popped into his head until he decided to leave her be. From there, he went to his usual spot up on the clock tower, ice cream in hand, as he stared up at the orange hues in the sky. Normally by now, Axel would have probably joined him, though he figured the red-head must have still been taking his usual vacation nap.

The Nobody continued to sit there peacefully with his treat, wondering what was in store for him the following day.

** **

“I’m sending you to a new world today to conduct recon,” Saïx informed.

Roxas nodded as he received his mission for the day. He wondered if Axel had already gone out, realizing he was nowhere to be seen that morning. Regardless, the boy did as he was told and made whatever preparations he needed to just in case, before he headed off into the dark corridor. Once he arrived at his new destination, he was suddenly met by a warm, salty breeze. The blond squinted slightly as he stepped out into the brightness. 

And that’s when it hit him. Sandy ground... clear, blue skies... the sound of the waves… this must have been the world Xion visited.

 _Destiny Islands, was it?_ He thought to himself, noticing it didn’t take too long for him to start feeling the heat from the sun on his coat. Thankfully it wasn’t as unbearable as Agrabah. Roxas took in the sights around him, inspecting the place as he approached the shoreline.

 _This place… It still feels familiar somehow… not sure_ why _though..._

Roxas’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard some voices from a distance. Quickly, he made his way over to some large rocks nearby and hid there for the time being as the voices grew louder. The blond peeked up to see two boys running by the shore, followed by two girls, probably all around the same age as him. He noticed how cheerful everyone seemed to be, except for the red-headed girl, who looked like something had been troubling her.

_Weird… she kinda looks like..._

Roxas blinked a few times before he raised himself slightly to get a better look at this person. However, his movement must have gotten her attention because at that moment, she suddenly looked his way. Roxas froze for a second before he rapidly hid back down. It became quiet until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. He had to think fast.

Without hesitation, the blond got up and darted off to what looked like a cave. He glanced around and spotted another large rock, quickly hiding behind there. Just as he suspected, the sound of footsteps followed him to this area. 

“Is someone there?” The soft voice asked. Before she was able to look around the cave, a faint voice from the other girl came from the outside.

“ _Kairi_? Where’d you go?”

It became silent, then the sound of the girl’s footsteps slowly began to fade. “I’m coming!”

Roxas waited a few moments before he quietly peeked from behind the rock. Yep, nobody was there. He let out a sigh of relief as he sat up against the large object.

“That was a close one…” he mumbled, thinking back to that girl. “But… who _was_ that girl?”

 _And why did she remind me of Xion_ …?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seemed to take some interest in the whole Roxas/Kairi stuff lately so I thought writing a concept like this would be neat. I hope it's not too bad! I've been a little rusty with my writing lol


	2. A Familiar Face

“ _Come on_ , Kairi,” Selphie begged, pulling on the red head’s wrist. “It’ll be just for today!”

Kairi gave her friend a hesitant look. It’s been a while since the girl had visited the small island where she and her friends always spent their days playing around. She loved it there. However, now that her two closest friends have gone away for some time, Kairi couldn’t help but spend her days waiting there for them to come back.

Day after day, she waited.

And waited.

But no one ever came.

Kairi did this for a while until one day, the memories of her these two friends began to slowly fade away. She could still remember their faces. She knew that there was a silver-haired boy.

_Riku, was it? But… the other boy… why can’t I remember his name now?_

She wasn’t sure if it was because she was tired after having many sleepless nights, but after spending much of her time waiting and trying to remember the things she had forgotten, Kairi thought it was best to stop going to the island, for her own sake. From there, she went on living her regular life. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she held on to a little bit of hope, knowing that she’ll be able to see those familiar faces again.

Which is why when Selphie tried to convince her to go on this particular day, Kairi felt her stomach flip all of a sudden. Part of her longed to go back, but she still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.

“I don’t…” The red head trailed off as she gave it some thought again. It didn’t help that her friend was rather convincing with the puppy-eyed face she was making.

Kairi managed to let out a small laugh at this before she finally ended up giving in. “Okay, fine. I guess it won’t hurt to go for a day.”

“Really?” Selphie’s face brightened as she took both of Kairi’s hands in hers. “Great! I’ll let Tidus and Wakka know so we can start heading over there!”

The red head smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm, but deep down she hoped that she was making the right decision to go back after all this time.

** **

“Hey! Wait up, Tidus!” The tall boy called out as he ran after his friend on the island.

The blond looked over his shoulder and laughed, not bothering to slow down. “Try to keep up!”

Behind them were the two girls just strolling by the shore. Normally, they would be spending this time having long conversations about anything and everything, all while enjoying the sights around the small island, but it was quiet between the two of them. Specifically on Kairi’s end, which began to worry Selphie.

“It’s nice to be back, isn’t it?” asked the brunette, in hopes of getting Kairi to speak.

The red head gave her friend a small smile and shrugged. “I guess so...”

Selphie noticed how off she seemed and stopped walking, turning to look at her with concern. “Hey, is there something wrong?”

Kairi looked at her friend before glancing down to the sandy ground. “I’m fine. It’s just been a while since...”

The girl trailed off just as she noticed some movement from the corner of her left eye. She turned her head in that direction and saw something in black heading towards the secret place. Without hesitation, Kairi left her friend behind and ran after whatever this was. Her stomach flipped at that moment, just like how it did earlier that day as she wondered if there was someone else on the island.

She finally made it to the cave and took a quick glance around to see…

Nothing.

“Is someone there?” Kairi asked, even though she was certain she wouldn’t get a response. She wanted to take a better look around until Selphie called out to her. The red head bit her lip in disappointment before she began to head out of the dark area. “I’m coming!”

Kairi emerged from the cave within a few moments to find her friend with a surprised look on her face. “What happened? You just ran off all of a sudden!”

A small laugh escaped Kairi’s lips, realizing she must have looked silly chasing after nothing. “Sorry… I thought I saw something.”

 _Or… someone_ , she thought.

** **

After Roxas did what he could to complete his mission, he made his way over to Twilight Town as usual. There, up on the clock tower, waited his red-headed friend who he hadn’t seen since the day before.

“Heya, Roxas,” he greeted with two ice cream bars in his hand. “You made it just in time. Your ice cream’s starting to melt.”

“Oh…” Roxas took his seat next to him and took the ice cream, noticing it began to drip. The boy started to eat it up before it became a mess.

Axel took a bite of his own treat as he looked out at the horizon with a small smile. “So how’d you spend your day off?”

“Not wasting the day away sleeping like you,” Roxas chuckled.

The older Nobody scoffed, playfully shoving Roxas in the process. “Hey c’mon! It’s the least I can do for myself. Feels like it’s been ages since I got a decent amount of rest.”

“I guess so,” the blond shrugged, remembering he didn’t get around to doing much either. “I spent most of the day with Xion. I was hoping she would wake up in time so we can spend it together, but she never did. I guess she still hasn’t woken up today either since she’s not here…”

Roxas looked at his melting ice cream with despair. He was really starting to miss hearing her voice. Axel hesitantly rubbed his neck, noticing the look on his friend’s face

“Just give it some time. She’ll be fine. Before you know it, we’ll all be sitting here together again like the old times.”

“Yeah, I hope so…” Roxas mumbled, looking up at Axel who was now staring out ahead of him. The boy did the same, letting his mind wander.

“I went to a new world for today’s mission.”

“Oh yeah? Where to?”

“Destiny Islands. We promised to go to the beach there together someday, remember?”

Axel glanced over and chuckled softly, “Yeah, of course I remember. I don’t forget things so easily, y’know.”

“Right,” Roxas nodded, looking down to his ice cream. “It’s strange though. Something about that place felt familiar. Almost like I’ve been there or something…” the boy paused and turned to face his friend, “Do you think these are just memories from before I became a Nobody?”

Axel remained silent, recalling he had a similar conversation with Xion one time. Of course that place was going to be familiar to him. He was Sora’s Nobody, after all. He knew that much. He scratched his head and shrugged at Roxas’s question.

“That’s possible.”

“And there was also this girl there who looked a bit like Xion,” Roxas added, vaguely remembering the stranger. “I couldn’t tell for sure but… I just had a feeling.”

The red head stayed silent again, losing himself in deep thought as a smirk formed on his lips. “A feeling, huh? Seems like you’re forgetting that Nobodies aren’t supposed to feel.”

Roxas can only shrug at this. “It’s just strange, that’s all. Maybe I’m just missing having Xion around.”

Axel lightly patted the boy’s back and chuckled. “You two just can’t stay apart, can you?”

Roxas gave his friend a small smile as he continued to finish up his ice cream. The two Nobodies sat there a while longer, appreciating the sights as they spoke about whatever came to mind before heading back to the castle after their long day.

** **

Another day, another mission to complete. Today’s mission involved collecting hearts in Agrabah. Not only did Roxas have to deal with the blazing heat from that world, but he ended up getting paired up with Demyx this time around. It definitely wasn’t his favorite combo.

By the time they finished, Roxas had done most of the heart collecting, while Demyx spent most of his time complaining about the unbearable heat. Roxas might as well have been better off on his own on this mission.

“Man, I’m outta here,” Demyx whined as he opened up a dark corridor and disappeared within a matter of seconds.

“Yeah, thanks for nothing,” Roxas grumbled under his breath.

From there, he planned on heading to Twilight Town as usual, but then the thought of going back to Destiny Islands crossed his mind. He considered making a quick stop to pick up some seashells for Xion. And if it were possible, maybe he might see that girl again. But what were the chances of _that_ happening?

Nevertheless, Roxas went through the dark corridor and headed off to his next destination. Eventually he was hit with a familiar sea breeze as he stepped out into the bright, tropical setting. The boy scanned the area before he began to make his way over to the shoreline.

It didn’t take him long to appreciate how peaceful it felt being there on the island. With the sound of the waves filling his ears and the salty breeze blowing through his hair, Roxas felt at ease. It gave him the same warm feeling as sitting up on the clock tower. He could now see why Xion liked coming here. Suddenly, his gaze fell down when he noticed a small object coming into view as the waves rolled out. Roxas bent down and picked up the object from the sand, smiling softly as he gazed at the familiar shape. 

A thalassa shell, similar to one of many seashells currently sitting beside Xion. But unlike the blue and yellow colors that he was used to seeing, this particular shell was a lighter combination of pink and yellow. He tucked it away in his pocket, unaware that someone had been watching him from a short distance.

** **

It was the first time Kairi was glad her friends had been busy that day, since now it gave her the chance to go to the island on her own. She realized this might have been a bit selfish of her, especially after not going back for many weeks, even though Selphie suggested for them to go plenty of times. But a part of her told her to return as soon as possible. Like there must have been something waiting for her there.

 _Or someone_ , she reminded herself. Could it be her friends? The ones she’s been longing to see again?

Kairi soon arrived at the empty island, taking in the sights once more. It was bittersweet being there again. The girl truly missed it, but she knew there was a reason for not coming back. However, she tried to push those thoughts away for the time being.

Out of curiosity, Kairi walked over by the secret place, recalling what had happened the day before. She wasn’t seeing things… was she? She took a deep breath and made her way inside the cave again, only to see nothing unusual. It was still the same old cave she remembered from before. She glanced around, looking at all the chalk drawings surrounding the walls. From there, the red head spotted a particular drawing. One that she hasn’t seen in a while ever since she stopped coming to the island.

It was a messy drawing of Kairi sharing a paopu fruit with someone special to her. Who this special someone was… well, she knew it had to be the boy she waited for all this time. At times it seemed his name would come to her mind, only for it to slip away again. And sometimes she would see a face, but it became too hazy to remember, almost like a dream. Kairi kneeled down as she stared at the drawing with a sad smile, wishing she could just remember his name and face. The only thing that kept her going was something about a promise they made.

“We made a promise, didn’t we?” She mumbled, pressing her hand up against the cold wall. “I know we did…”

Kairi kept her gaze on the drawing a while longer before she shook her head and stood back up, brushing off the dirt from her outfit. She took another brief look around before she decided to make her way back out of the cave.

As soon as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she immediately spotted someone by the shoreline. Someone with blond hair and a black coat. Then realization struck her. Maybe whatever she saw just the day before might have been whoever this was. But… who _was_ this person anyway?

Kairi quietly watched him from a distance as he bent down, probably to pick up a seashell lying in the wet sand. He stood there examining it before tucking it in his coat.

He began to walk off until he suddenly noticed her presence.

And he froze.

And she froze as well.

Just as Kairi was about to approach him, he made a quick run for it, leaving the girl wide-eyed. Then, almost as if it were out of instinct, she quickly followed him.

“Wait! Don’t go!” She called out.

Roxas stopped in his tracks, unsure what to do. Though, he realized running away out in the open was probably a useless thing to do anyway. But he wanted to avoid being seen so he thought of the next best thing. Quickly, Roxas reached over his back and brought the hood of his coat over his head.

Kairi caught up to him, cautiously taking a few steps forward as she stared at the now hooded stranger. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

He turned around slightly, keeping his gaze low. “I’m just… visiting.”

“Oh, I see,” the girl slowly nodded, taking a step closer to him to get a better look at his face. “By any chance, were you here yesterday too?”

Roxas noticed how much closer she got to him and took a small step back, lifting his head slightly to meet her eyes. And that’s when he realized…

 _She really_ does _look like her_...

Other than her auburn hair being slightly longer than Xion’s, he can definitely see a resemblance.

The red head pouted and waved a hand in front of his face. “ _Hellooo?_ Are you there?”

Roxas snapped out of his thoughts and gazed back down to the sand, attempting to pull the hood further down his face.

Kairi raised a brow before laughing at whatever this boy was trying to do. At this rate, she gained more courage to take another step closer. With her hands behind her back, she lowered her head and peeked up at him with a grin. “I can still see you, you know.”

He sighed to himself and lifted his head as he listened to the girl giggle.

“Come on, let me just…” Without hesitation, she reached out and gradually pulled the hood off from his head, revealing his blond, spiky locks she saw moments ago. Finally, they were both able to see each other’s faces clearly. Roxas curiously stared at her for a long time and noticed she had been staring at him for a while too, almost as if she had been lost in thought, but he wasn’t too sure.

“What?” He questioned, snapping Kairi out of her thoughts.

It took her a moment to realize she was absentmindedly staring at the boy. She didn’t mean to, of course. But she couldn’t help but wonder...

_I feel like I’m connected to him somehow… but I’m not sure why..._

She shook her head and took a step back. “I’m sorry. Have we… met before?”

Roxas scratched his head, giving the girl a look of confusion. “I don’t think we have…?”

“Right… sorry,” she looked down and fiddled with her fingers. “It’s just… you remind me of someone I know.”

_You remind me of someone I know…_

Roxas repeated the words in his head. As if it wasn’t already strange enough that this person looked like his friend, apparently now Roxas had someone who looked like him as well. He was confused about whatever was going on, yet he couldn’t help but laugh about the whole situation.

Kairi looked at him, thinking she might have said something wrong. “What is it?”

“It’s weird…” he began as he rubbed his neck, “You remind me of someone I know too.”

The girl stood there in bewilderment before she found herself laughing as well. “That _is_ pretty weird.”

She continued to laugh at this, causing Roxas to laugh along with her as well. It was strange how comfortable they both felt with each other at that moment. Once their laughter died down, the red head realized she didn’t introduce herself yet.

“I’m Kairi, by the way.”

_Kairi… have I heard that name once before...?_

He brushed the thought aside and introduced himself as well. “I’m Roxas.”

The girl smiled and began to walk past him, her hands behind her back once more. “So… what brings you here, Roxas? Are you looking for seashells?”

“How’d you know?” His gaze followed her as she walked over to the shoreline. 

She turned back to look at him, the genuine smile never leaving her face. “I saw you picking something up from the sand a while ago. I figured it might have been that.”

Roxas went over to join her by the shoreline and scratched his head. “Well, yeah. It’s for my friend, actually. She hasn't been too well these past days.”

Suddenly, the smile on her face disappeared. “Oh… sorry about that. I hope she gets better.”

“Yeah…”

He stayed silent for a moment before pulling out the seashell he kept in his pocket. “She really likes these though. She brought some for me when I was a little unwell myself.” 

Kairi gave him a curious look. “Your friend was here too?”

Roxas nodded at her question, tucking the small object back in his pocket before realizing he lost track of time. Axel was probably waiting for him on the clock tower with his melting ice cream. “Uh… anyway, I should probably get going. I got some place to be.”

Kairi’s heart suddenly dropped just as he was about to walk off.

“Wait! Umm…” She reached out to grab him, only to retract her hand when he turned to face her with a surprised look. A small smile suddenly formed on the girl’s lips as she thought of an idea. “Tell you what… Why don’t you come back tomorrow? There’s something I wanna show you.”

“Okay…?” Roxas wasn’t sure how to respond to this, but he went along with it anyway. Whatever made her happy, he supposed. After all, he was now curious to get to know her more.

Kairi gave the boy a delighted smile when he agreed to return. Though, she noticed the confused look on his face and laughed softly.

“Trust me, I’m sure your friend would appreciate it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a data greeting out of this a few months back, which is what gave me the idea to write this story :D  
> https://starrattlerofprydain.tumblr.com/post/636584243194150913/what-if-pt-12  
> https://starrattlerofprydain.tumblr.com/post/636588239743041536/what-if-pt-22


End file.
